Five Things We Learned About UVA In Win Over Ohio Saturday…

Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall said after his team defeated Ohio University, 45-31, at neutral site Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday night that the maturity of his team in handling an unexpected road trip was “huge.”

UVa’s “home game” was moved to Nashville in order to secure a safe place to play due to the threat of Hurricane Florence.

“To expose strengths and weaknesses is huge,” Mendenhall said of the win, which improved UVa to 2-1. “That alone builds momentum and helps us improve going into the next game.”

The next game will be Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, when Louisville (2-1) comes to town. The Cardinals overcame an early 14-0 deficit at home Saturday night and rallied to a 20-17 win over Western Kentucky (0-3).

Here are “Five Things We Learned” about Virginia in its win over the Bobcats:

1 Quarterback Bryce Perkins did a superb job of getting the ball to his playmakers, Olamide Zaccheaus (slot), Jordan Ellis (RB), Hasise Dubois (WR), and Evan Butts (TE). Perkins showed that he can be extremely accurate as a passer on the short to intermediate routes, hitting Zaccheaus and letting him do his thing. Perkins was 25-for-30 for 379 yards and three TDs. However, most of the passes came from the short passing game (12.6 yard per completion). Outside of Zaccheaus’ two long TD catch-and-runs, the longest completion Perkins had was for 16 yards to Dubois.

2 Zaccheaus needs to get more touches. This guy is one of the greatest weapons in the ACC and needs more than nine touches a game. Offensive coordinator Robert Anae needs to find a way to make that happen. Zaccheaus set a single-season UVa record last season with 85 catches over 13 games (6.5 receptions per game). So far this season, “O,” as he is nicknamed by his teammates and coaches, is averaging about 10 touches per game (only six in the close loss at Indiana). He is Virginia’s ultimate YAC (yards after catch) guy, and is a threat to take it to the house on any little bubble screen or short route. The dude went 86 and 77 yards with it against Ohio on Saturday and pulled away from defenders. Even QB Perkins commented on Twitter about “O’s” speed: “Okay ion kno about faster but we may be tied (in the dispute about who is fastest on UVa’s team).” Zaccheaus even got a national shout out with an ESPN “Helmet Sticker” after breaking the Virginia record for most yards receiving in a game with 247 on nine catches.

3 Virginia needs to fix it’s place-kicking. Sophomore kicker A.J. Mejia has been less consistent already this season than he was in 2017. Mejia missed a 30-yard field goal against Ohio, normally an almost automatic make by good collegiate kickers. He later made one earlier from 32. So, he’s 1-3 on the season, missing a 35-yarder against Richmond. Last season, Mejia was 8-for-12, the longest make from 38. He was 0-for-4 on everything longer, meaning he didn’t miss anything inside 38. With as many swing games as the Cavaliers will play this season, including this Saturday’s game against Louisville, it could come down to a Mejia field goal, and right now that looks mighty shaky.

4 Did Bronco find his punt return man? The Cavaliers went with true freshman Tavares Kelly, a 5-9, 165, speedster from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which has produced tons of football talent, including Hall of Famer Michael Irvin. Kelly, one of the fastest players on Virginia’s team, had three punt returns in his debut at the position, for a 14.3 average, including a 42-yarder where it looked like he might have a chance to break it. Yes, Kelly did fumble one catch at a crucial point late in the game that led to an Ohio field goal for the final 45-31 outcome, but he is a true freshman. UVa went with sophomore Chuck Davis in the first two games because of his ability to catch the ball, the No. 1 rule of a punt returner, but Davis did not record impressive numbers as far as return yardage.

5 As good as Virginia’s secondary is touted to be, it needs to tighten up its coverage. Ohio’s Rourke completed 16 of 31 attempts for 246 yards and two scores, keeping the Bobcats in the game after the Cavaliers built a 35-7 lead. In the last two games, UVa only has one interception and has given up four TD passes.

When Louisville comes to town, it may not be that big of an issue because the Cardinals’ starting QB Jawon Pass has struggled with the passing game, and was pulled after going 0-3 vs. Western Kentucky early. He was replaced by redshirt freshman Malik Cunningham, who was 10-18, 88 yards. Cunningham, however, is more of a running quarterback (21 rushes, 129 yards). The rest of the Louisville team had only 75 yards rushing. However, L’ville boasts a core of big, talented wide outs led by Jaylen Smith, one of the top receivers in the conference.

Meanwhile, UVa’s Bryce Hall, who recorded a huge PBU on an Ohio fourth-and-three (last play of third quarter), did not allow a reception in the four passes thrown his way in the game.